The U.S. released the last four British citizens being held at Guantanamo today, and one Australian, Mamdouh Habib. No charges were ever filed against them. They were held for three years.

The Pentagon is refusing to release Australian David Hicks, who is set to face a military tribunal trial in March. His military lawyer claims a double standard is being used. Hicks' Australian lawyer says his trial might not begin for another three years.

Amnesty International is calling upon the Government to reveal the terms of the deals made with Britain and Australia to secure the prisoners' release. It also wants an investigation into their claims of torture. Last August, David Hicks has filed an affidavit alleging abuse and mistreatment at Guantanamo, you can read it here.

The Chicago City Council has approved a $2 million settlement for a youth wrongfully accused of murdering 11 year old Ryan Harris. A second youth's case remains pending.

"It's probably one of the most shameful episodes in our city's history," Alderman Joe Moore said Monday. "We're getting off pretty easy."

Another Alderman thought the settlement should be $10 million. If the city had gone to trial and lost, the verdict might have been $30 to 50 million.

Here's some details of the case--and the inexcusable police conduct. Here's some background on Floyd Durr, whose DNA did match semen in Ryan's underwear and who is awaiting trial for her murder.

Bump and Update: The ACLU, which does not take a position on cabinet appointments, weighs in:

We are troubled that his public record suggests he sees the Bill of Rights as an obstacle to national security, rather than a guidebook for how to do security properly.

More updates and reactions at the end of this post, scroll down.

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original post:

Third Circuit Appeals Judge Michael Chertoff is President Bush's new pick for homeland security chief. Chertoff was a Bush nominee to the Court.

Chertoff was a career prosecutor. He's been United States Attorney of New York and New Jersey and Assistant AG at the Main Department of Justice. He argued the case against Zacarias Moussaoui being allowed access to Al Qaeda witnesses for his trial. He also served as counsel to the Repbulican Whitewater committees investing the Clintons. In fact, the only vote in the Senate against Chertoff's confirmation came from Hillary Clinton.

If you're going to get charged with a crime, maybe you better hope it's not in Nevada.

Police and prosecutors in the Las Vegas Valley routinely try to keep essential information from defense lawyers, violating the constitutional rights of those accused of crimes, defense attorneys and the county public defender say.

Besides violating the U.S. and Nevada constitutions and potentially putting innocent people behind bars, the actions of the district attorney's office and Metro Police waste large amounts of time and money, as defenders must go to court over and over to obtain evidence to which they are legally entitled, the attorneys say.

Defense lawyers plan to file a "major lawsuit" in the next few months over the issue.

Bad news, the Supreme Court ruled today in Whitfield v. U.S. that the Government does not need to prove an overt act in furtherance of a money laundering conspiracy.

The Court's decison on the federal sentencing guidelines, in the Booker and Fan Fan cases, likely will be released tomorrow.

Stay with Scotus Blog, How Appealing and Sentencing Law and Policy for the latest news.

More from Scotus on the money laundering decision. The Court likened it to the federal drug crime conspiracy statute which makes no mention of an overt act.

The AP reports on witness testimony at day two of Charles Graner's Abu Ghraib abuse trial.

A Syrian inmate at Abu Ghraib said Army Spc. Charles Graner Jr. was the Baghdad prison's primary torturer who laughed while physically abusing him and threatened to kill him more than once.

Amin al-Sheikh, testifying via videotaped deposition shown in court Tuesday, said Graner also made him eat pork and drink alcohol, in violation of his Muslim faith, and that he listened through his cell wall while Graner and other Americans forced a Yemeni prisoner eat from a toilet.

....Asked if Graner appeared to enjoy hurting him, al-Sheikh said through an interpreter: "He was laughing. ... He laughed. He was whistling. He was singing."

I wonder if Graner still thinks things are going well for him. Here's more from the article:

Update: Former Dean Campaign Manager Joe Trippi endorses Simon Rosenberg

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It's official, Howard Dean has announced he's running for Chair of the Democratic National Committee. Daily Kos has his full statement.

Here's a press release I received by e-mail on Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid's position on Social Security. I like it.

“If the president wants to know how people really feel about his Social Security plan, he should start by asking them how they will react to having their benefits cut nearly in half, which is what seniors will see if Republicans proceed with their privatization plan.

Social Security is America's promise to those who work hard and play by the rules. But through news reports and White House leaks, we know the President intends to break this promise. I hope the President uses today’s conversation to come clean about this fact.”

My previous reservations about Senator Reid are fading fast. TalkLeft received an invitation today to participate in a conference call betweeen bloggers and his staff Thursday. Unfortunately, I have a scheduling conflict but I'm most appreciative of the offer. Last we I participated in such a call with DNC Chair hopeful Simon Rosenberg. The call left me very open to him. I'm glad that the give and take of actual conversation hasn't been replaced by blogging but is being used as an adjunct. I'm also impressed by those in political positions who are reaching out to the blogosphere. Netroots activism at work.

Cocaine has gotten a very bad reputation in the past 25 years. 1n 1976, the year Snowblind was written, it was in its heyday yet still somewhat of a novelty to the general public. Then came the War on Drugs, and it's been downhill for cocaine ever since. British Docmentarian Angus Macqueen (prior films include the Death of Yugoslavia, Gulag, Dancing for Dollars and The Last Peasants) makes a strong case for legalization in his new film, 18 months in the making. It will air in three parts in Great Britain (channel 4) beginning next Sunday. Judging by Macqueen's comments in Sunday's Observer, the film should cause quite a stir.

Celebrated documentary-maker Angus Macqueen spent 18 months on the cocaine trail across Latin America from the dirt-poor valleys of Peru to the shanty towns of Rio. Here he recalls the journey that revolutionised his views and explains why he believes 'the dandruff of the Andes' should be sold in Boots.

It's a really long article, but if you are a drug law reformer at heart, read the whole thing. Here are a few paragraphs that give you a sense of the film, of where MacQueen stood on cocaine when he began filming, and of where he ended up and why. If anyone knows how we can see the film here in the U.S., please e-mail us or leave the information in the comments.

Mary Mapes, fired for her role as producer of the Dan Rather segment on President Bush's National Guard (non) service, has issued this statement in response to both her firing and the independent report commissioned by CBS.

Testimony began today in the military trial of Charles Graner, the alleged ringleader of the guards who abused prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. His lawyer today said the abuse was acceptable. Who's he kidding?

Graner's attorney said piling naked prisoners into pyramids and leading them by a leash were acceptable methods of prisoner control. He compared this to pyramids made by cheerleaders at sports events and parents putting tethers on toddlers.

"Don't cheerleaders all over America form pyramids six to eight times a year. Is that torture?" Guy Womack, Graner's attorney, said in opening arguments to the 10-member U.S. military jury at the reservist's court-martial.

The prosecutors trotted out their cooperating co-abusers today--Ivan Frederick was another baddie. He got an 8 year sentence in exchange for agreeing to testify against Graner.

The independent report on Dan Rather's report on Bush's National Guard service is in. Four employees got the ax.

The network fired Mary Mapes, producer of the report; Josh Howard, executive producer of "60 Minutes Wednesday" and his top deputy Mary Murphy; and senior vice president Betsy West.

The report concluded the broadcast was not the result of a political agenda, just the desire to be first in reporting the story.

The independent investigators - former Republican Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and Louis Boccardi, retired president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press - said they could find no evidence to conclude the report was fueled by a political agenda.

The network's drive to be the first to break a story about Bush's National Guard service was a key reason it produced a story that was neither fair nor accurate and did not meet CBS News' internal standards, the investigators said.